Philadelphia Medicine Winter-Spring 2021 - 29

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A Very Portly Pandemic
Are you worried
about COVID . . . 15?
By Richard W. Cohen, M.D., and Nancy Cohen, M.S.

f you have been faithfully following the
COVID-19 stay-at-home restrictive
orders, you may have become a victim
of COVID-15: the additional, unexpected,
unwanted, 10- to 15-pound weight gain that is
making your clothes not fit so well any more.

A change in routine, being home in comfy,
stretchable clothing in front of the TV and
having unhealthy, processed foods ready to grab
and eat have set us up to lose the battle with
COVID-15.

Richard W. Cohen, M.D.

We are set up to gain the weight because of
excessive or unhealthful eating, taking an extra
daily shot of alcohol and being inactive, bored,
depressed, anxious and isolated from coworkers
and family.
Beware that weight gain can be " catching. "
We tend to adopt the same poor eating habits
and eat the same junk foods as those around us.
Since psychiatry can be a sedentary profession, I've (Richard) kept myself very active and
physically fit. I was a nationally ranked tennis
player in my youth. Prior to the pandemic, I
played tennis and ran every day at 73 years old.
I was only overweight once in my life.

Nancy Cohen, M.S.

I had not realized I had gained a lot of
weight. Thankfully, a physician called me
" obese. " Initially I was angry at the doctor; however, I realized he did me the biggest favor of my
life. I changed my diet and eating habits and
kept my weight and body mass index, or BMI,
steady until pandemic stress caused me to fall
into the same bad eating habits that are causing
many others to gain the COVID-15. I was surprised when I weighed myself and I had gained
12 pounds! I immediately modified my diet and
increased my physical activity. I have now lost
the extra 12 pounds and my BMI went down to
23, which is normal.

I will give you suggestions that may help you
exceed your pre-pandemic physical condition:

Remedies
* Keep a food journal: write down what you
eat, the amount of food you eat, the time
you are eating and your mood at that moment. Keeping a small notebook to record
what and when you eat is important because
upon review, it will make you face reality
and be accountable for what you put in your
mouth.
Until you review your journal, you may
have underestimated the amount and kinds of
food and drinks you actually consume. A food
journal can show your areas of struggle and
unhealthy eating habits and help you make
necessary changes in your habits and diet, to
eventually lose weight. You will be less likely to
eat junk food or have an extra serving of food.
If you do not want to use paper and pencil,
you can download an app on your phone, such
as My Plate Tracker, to keep track of your food
and calorie intake. Do your journaling immediately after you eat, and include snacks; do not
wait until night time to record your food and
journal. Include your mood or how you felt
during your meal or snack: for example, were
you bored, sad, anxious, etc.? This information
will indicate why you may be overeating.
* Develop healthful eating habits. Eat a
maximum of three meals and three snacks
per day, but eat only when you are hungry,
that is, when your stomach growls or you
feel light-headed. Limiting yourself to
eating only when you are hungry will help
eliminate emotional eating to fill a loss in
your life or to deal with feelings of stress,
anxiety, sadness or isolation which have been
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